Friday, December 18, 2015

Fleet Friday: Update 0.5.2 Coming - Oh Yeah

First of all, I'd like to apologize for missing my post on Wednesday. My RL job required three straight days of a 75 mile commute (one way) and all day meetings I had no chance whatsoever to log in and write a post. Of course, that would have been predicated on having content to post about, which also did not happen. In fact, I've not had an opportunity to play any computer game or do anything else since last Sunday. That makes Mabrick a sad gamer. But on the bright side, it pays for my computer game addiction!

And speaking of computer game addictions, I did go ahead and purchase a Tirpitz premium battleship as a holiday gift for myself while they are available again. The only problem is I got to play about three whole matches in it. The good news is two of the three were victories. Go team! And wow, is that ship capable. I was mauling this Izumo who only want to show me his broadside.

However, I'm still getting used to how it fights. With a top speed of 30 plus knots, it handles much differently than my Colorado. I'm also hampered by a relatively unskilled captain. It's here I have to admit I didn't understand how captains work in premium ships. You can put any captain of the same nation into a premium ship. Oops. But in three games I've been able to gain enough captain experience to obtain Superintendent. And yes, premium ships are bank boosters in that and other ways. Remember my complaint that the New Orleans was a money loser because it was so expensive to repair? Not so the Tirpitz. I put it to the test even. My first Tirpitz battle I was low tier facing a Yamato and several Iowas and Izumos. So I ran right out into the middle of B on the Hot Spot map. The entire opposing team was happy to shoot at me until I sank, which took longer than I expected but not that long in reality. So complete loss and all I didn't even capture B. I still made over 26k credits. I laughed all the way to the bank.

But hey, the title of this post indicated I was looking forward to the next game update so I should discuss that shouldn't I? Update 0.5.2 is coming soon and is on the public test server now. I've not had time to check it out, but I've had some time to watch a view reviews on You Tube and to read the dev bulletin on it.

The thing I'm really psyched about are the changes to torpedo detection. You may remember I made a statement in my Fleet Friday: Hatsuharu Class Destroyer post about the need to change the torpedo detection mechanic in World of Warships. I recommended if hydro-acoustic was not active and a spotter/fighter plane was not within 0.3 kilometers of the torpedo, that ships get no more than a 0.7 kilometer warning on incoming torpedoes. It seems Wargaming was already on it. They are making torpedoes more difficult to detect. I don't know yet precisely what they've done, but in the test server games I've watched torpedoes were definitely more effective. And on the EU forums there is a post about data mined information posted by Kurbain which states,

1.) DD torpedoes are now spotted later. (About 5% less visibility for T2-T5 and 20% for T6-T10) The Type 93 of Kagero and Shimakaze will have a visibility factor of 1.7km instead of 2,1km, giving you a reaction time of 9,8s instead of 12,1s. Other countries also get this buff, but it won't be as large as the one for IJN DDs. In return the 2 million credits Target Acquisition module will boost torpedo spotting range by 20% and the range at which ships are automatically detected by 50% (From 2 to 3 KM)

This is not nearly as much of a reduction in spotting distance as I advocated, but it's probably more balanced than what I would want. ;-)

There are also two new maps coming. The more the merrier I say. I love variety when it comes to maps. I also like that these are inspired by real world geography like Strait was. If you'd like to see them in action, Notser has a video on them. Thank you Notser! Atlantic is a huge map, suited for high tier ships with long ranges. I feel it would also be a great carrier map. One issue with carriers in World of Warships is the maps are too damn small. Look at the distances covered in the Battle of Midway for example. Those fleets never got close to each other. Carriers may be played more if they could really be a long range force multiplier. And shattered looks like Two Brothers but more fun. Point B looks like knife fight territory for sure, and as I'm working up the Russian destroyer line I like that possibility. It also looks a lot like home. :-)

There are also more flags coming. The term "builds" was used in conjunction with these new flags. That has some very interesting implications for combining ship upgrades, captain skills and flags to enhance the natural capabilities of ship. Look for the Cleveland to become more OP with fire damage, and some other ships as well. I'm not certain if increased magazine detonation will stop that as there is a flag to counter magazine detonation.

I also like the idea of Karma. If you really like how another player comports them self, you can compliment them with a right click. If they get enough compliments, they'll get a reward. It's the carrot versus the stick philosophy and I approve 100%. Players should be rewarded for being nice, and trolls should just be ignored.

There are lots of other changes coming in update 0.5.2. Have a read through the mined data and you can also read the player feedback on the official forum to see what everyone thinks. I read something about a Cleveland with 19 kilometer range and smoke to hide in. O.o

And lastly, I want to provide some data on the Secret Santa gift giving going on now through January 4, 2016. Yes, this is just another way for Wargaming.net to generate income. But is it worth the expense? Here's what I did. I purchased 10 Secret Santa gifts. That cost me $9.90. For that $9.90 I received 2300 doubloons and 15 Type 3 ship camos which give me -4% to opponent's firing accuracy and 100% to my experience earned. Those are going on my Tirpitz for sure! A similar package is not available in the premium shop, but 3000 doubloons on the NA server cost $14.79. At that rate the 2300 I got would cost $11.34. I'd say I got my money's worth. And there is a chance you might get a premium ship from your Secret Santa. It's a luck of the draw proposition. Nice.